Casting Call

March 31st, 2008
by Rae

We are currently looking for supporting actors and extras for various scenes to be filmed in the Bay Area during weekends in May and/or June. If you or someone you know fits into one of these categories and would like to be an extra, send us an email at info(at)qiu-jin.com

1. Asian men (able to pass for Chinese) with shaved heads, 20’s - 30’s yrs. old. Both non-speaking and Mandarin-speaking roles. We will need about 7-10 people to play soldiers and scholars.

   Filming dates: May 10-11, 17-18 (Note: Extras do not need to be present for all days, most likely 1-2 days, 3-4 hours each day.)
   Location: Santa Clara and San Jose

2. Asian men (able to pass for Chinese) with short or slicked back hair, 20’s - 30’s yrs. old. We will need about 10 people to play students.

   Filming dates: May 10-11, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm.
   Location: Hakone Gardens, Saratoga

3. Asian women (able to pass for Chinese), 20’s - 30’s yrs. old. Able to speak Mandarin (basic level okay). We will need about 5 people to play students. We have filled all of these spots. Thanks for responding.

   Filming dates: May 10-11, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm
   Location: Hakone Gardens, Saratoga

4. Asian women (able to pass for Chinese), teens - 30’s yrs. old with knowledge of wushu basics. All levels welcome, from beginner to advanced. We will need about 40 people to play soldiers training in the Women’s Army.

   Filming date: Sunday, May 4, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
   Location: Tilden Park, Berkeley

5. Asian men with shaved heads, 40’s-60’s yrs. old.

   Filming dates: May 10-11, 17-18 (Note: Extras do not need to be present for all days, most likely 1-2 days, 3-4 hours each day.)
   Location: Santa Clara and San Jose

6. Asian women, 40’s-60’s yrs. old.

   Filming dates: May 10-11, 17-18 (Note: Extras do not need to be present for all days, most likely 1-2 days, 3-4 hours each day.)
   Location: Santa Clara and San Jose

Extras will be provided meals and a free copy of the DVD when completed!

Posted in Casting, General, Shanghai | 33 Comments »

Travel Update From Shanghai

March 5th, 2008
by Adam

Apologies on the lack of updates. We’ve been busy traveling to and from various cities in China. The day after arriving in Shanghai, we took a van out to Shaoxing, where Qiu Jin’s childhood home and the school where she taught at are located. There, we interviewed several scholars and officials, including Qiu Jin’s grandnephew! We also went to monument at the site of her execution by Qing Dynasty.

After Shaoxing, we spent several days in Hangzhou, where there is another memorial dedicated to Qiu Jin. Before her death, she requested that she be buried next to the tomb of General Yue Fei near Westlake. We got some more great footage and photos of the monument.

Tomorrow, we’re headed to Beijing on the final leg of the tour. I’ll have some more time in the next few days to upload some images from the first two weeks of our trip!

Posted in Shanghai, Travel | 1 Comment »

On Route to Shaoxing

February 27th, 2008
by Adam and Rae

We’re on route to Shaoxing, where Qiu Jin’s former residence and school reside. We arrived in Shanghai in the late morning. The taxi drivers are crazy! Ours was weavng in and out of traffic at high speed, sometimes making three lanes where there were only two! After settling into our hotel, we walked around the area near our hotel on Pujian Road. In the evening, we met up with my cousin King-Jung and Rae’s former co-worker, Sid, going to Raffles City for dinner.

Our driver is arriving any minute now to take us to a film equipment rental house so we can load up on lights, stands, and modifiers for our shooting this week.

Posted in General, Shanghai, Technical | No Comments »